The Cassandra Chronicles Book 1: The Crystal Alchemist
by Cassandra Fallon
Summary: "Life's pretty strange when you think about it. I have no true existance. Maybe I'll see you again, Maybe I won't. Just promise me you won't forget me. I know I'll never forget you." And with that she faded away. May include triggering content. Rated M because I'm paranoid and this might include some adult themes. Part One in a multiple fandom project
1. Intro

**A/N- So this is the start of a new project by me. An amazing multi-fandom thing. And you'll see exactly what I mean by that when you get to the end of this introduction. This Chapter is probably the most important chapter of the project and I hope you enjoy it. :)**

What am I? That's complicated. Who am I? Also complicated. So maybe I'll just start at the beginning, with the Curse. My mother told me the story of the Dimension jumpers as a child. A curse that was cast upon a family of unsuspecting people, the woman in each family gifted with a gene that allowed them to jump from realm to realm. Or rather, get sucked into another realm from their current realm.

On their sixteenth birthdays dimension jumpers would be sent from their families by whatever power controlled the jumps to a Universe that had met a wrong that needed righting. Natures fix all. A pain in the ass if you ask me. With every dimension came a new name and a new face. A new home. New friends, new everything. And when the job was done, you were whisked away to the next realm, leaving behind everything you knew and loved in your wake. It was a hard life, according to my mother. Though I never knew exactly how much truth rested behind the stories that my mother told me as a child.

In the beginning, I was Cassandra Fallon. And then I became the Dimension Jumper. Now, I am whoever I need to be in order to succeed in my mission. I no longer have an identity. No longer have a home. I am a wanderer, stuck in a perpetual state of constant loss. But I was not always that way.

I was a happy child. But I'm not going to give you all my backstory. It's not important. Just the day that all of this starter.

My sixteenth birthday. I was stuck trying to figure out everything in my life by myself. Mom was at work, and Dad was gone as per norm. But something was wrong with me. I didn't exactly feel like myself. In fact, I felt woozy and sick all day. It had been absolutely terrible. Until my Aunt arrived. "Cassie, you'll be fine."She said with a soft smile, "Today is a blessing. Your mother wanted me to give you this."

I looked at the box that Aunt Karen held out to me and I let out a soft laugh.

"It's just my sixteenth birthday, nothing really special about that."But I took the box none the less and opened it. Inside was a small locket, with a picture of her and my father, and an inscription that read 'Never forget how you got where you are.'

I was confused, what could she have possibly meant by that. Part of me felt like this was a goodbye.

"Close your eyes, dear. It'll make it easier."

Again I was confused, until I felt myself falling and falling. The world went black and I screamed as I fell, until I landed face first on the ground.

"It's not possible."

But it was. I was no longer home, in fact, I was no longer me. I was the newest Dimension jumper and I knew my mission. And if I ever wanted to see my family again. I had to finish it.


	2. Prologue

_**A/N- So heres the first chapter of the first installment of The Cassandra Chronicles. Titled the Crystal Alchemist. I do so hope you enjoy this. :)**_

_Name: Laurenna Ryder  
Job: Barsinger and State Alchemist_

_Age: 19_

_Nature of Mission: Save the Homunculus Greed and preserve the balance. _

My brain made that sound easy. I laughed a soft sound at the idea of being a Barsinger. It was almost embaressing to think about. Who the hell would want to do something like that for a living? That was a serious question, who the hell? Apparently me. I huffed a sigh, blowing a piece of long curly brunette hair from my face.

I wondered where the hell the cover story came from, and who decided on my appearance. The powers that be had a major sense of humor, clearly. And I hated them every second for it.

"Watch out!"A voice called out to me and someone pulled me from the road I'd landed in. A tall suit of armor. Okay, that was weird, who the hell wore around a suit of armor on a day like that? It was really hot, whoever it was had to be sweating inside that thing.

"Sorry, I'm a klutz."I laughed a soft sound. Now I knew why a bar singer. My voice was like silk, had to be good for singing. "And thank you for pulling me out of the way."

"You're welcome. I'm Alphonse."In his voice I could hear a smile, I wondered if the boy inside it was smiling as he spoke, his hand held out to meet mine.

"I'm Ca-Laurenna. It's a pleasure to meet you, Alphonse."

"Laurenna. Wait, you're the Crystal Alchemist aren't you?"The suit of armor asked me and I nodded.

"Yup, that's me. Been out of commission for a while."

Another male joined us, a short blonde, who seemed to be an alchemist himself. In all honesty the whole situation was confusing as hell to me. I had memories of a life that wasn't mine. It was almost like living in a coma for years and waking up to find that everything I thought I knew was a dream.

"Whose your friend, Al?"The short blonde asked.

"Laurenna Ryder. Hi, it's a pleasure."I spoke with a smile, putting my hand out. The blonde took it with a metal hand and shook it.

"Edward Elric. Fullmetal Alchemist. You must be The Crystal Alchemist we've heard so much about." I was pretty sure a soft blush rose to my cheeks at his comment.

"I'm nothing all too special really. So you guys are the infamous Elric brothers."

"Yeah."

"That's awesome. Well, I'll be seeing you around. I have to check in with my boss."I spoke, desperate to get away from them and gather my thoughts. Gathering my thoughts was precisely what I needed to do. There was nothing but a jumbled mess of what I thought was real and what must've been real for this particular mission.

I felt my feet pounding the pavement before I felt anything else and the further I got from those boys, the more my mind seemed to wander, until I came up on a hotel. There was already a reservation for me. The man at the desk handed me my key and told me my room number. I wandered up a flight of stairs towards the room. It wasn't until I had locked myself in that I sat down and began to think. A pad of paper and a pencil and I began to scrawl my thoughts down on the page.

_Who am I? Laurenna Elaine Ryder.  
How old am I? 19._

_Parents Names: Helen and Victor Ryder(deceased)  
Property: Family home in Dublith_

_Town of Origin: Dublith  
Persons of Interest: Roy Mustang, Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Riza Hawkeye, Fury, Breda, Fallman, Havoc, Fuhrer Bradley. _

_Mission: Greed._

_Other Important Information: As a State Alchemist orders must be taken from the military. When order is given obey it. There is a case involving homunculi (fake humans) running around. Look into said case to see about information on Greed. Ask Elric's they were involved. _

_Boss: Colonel Roy Mustang (The Flame Alchemist)_

The memories stopped swirling once I acknowledged them, in fact they all sorta sank into place as though they were their all along, among the files of the rest of my mind. Next thing I had to do was find a mirror. Standing in front of it, I saw that I had long curling brown hair that fell over jacketed shoulders. The outfit itself was stylish enough. For what seemed to be the early 1900's the existance of stylish clothing definitely stunned me in more ways than one. Denim half jacket, black t-shirt, and dark jeans. A look I could work with. And the bling. You couldn't forget the bling. A bracelet around each wrist made of fairly large stones, each one had a different alchemical circle on it. Effeciant enough. I just had to use the memories provided to remember how the hell to make them work.

I started scanning through memories as though they were files in a filing cabinet. The sooner I finished here. The sooner I could go home. The sooner I could be with my family again. That was what I needed if anything, so that was what I was aiming towards. I finished this mission and I could go home. Aha! There it was. The transmutation circles were already drawn within the stones and from what the memories stated all I had to do was run my fingers over it in a certain manner. I held two fingers together and ran them across the stone as I did, it crackled and changed, it's form enlongated by my fingers pulling it. The others melding in and creating a blade of crystal. That was cool. And with a retreating motion the blade faded back into a lovely fashion statement. Cool!

From the looks of everything I was ready to face the world. I grabbed my room key and shoved it in my pocket, standing and moving towards the door, when I felt a vibrating in my pocket. My cell phone. The number was unknown. But I answered it anyway. "Cassandra?"

"Yes, who is this?"The voice was strange, human but not.

"I am known as the creator. Do you approve of your appearance and memories for this life?"

"I suppose so. It's weird to say the least. What the hell is going on?"

"As I assume you have figured out by now, you are no longer in your home with your family. This is your 16 birthday, and your gifts have awakened. I am calling to explain to you your mission."

"Something about rescuing a homunculus?"

"Yes, the balance in this world was upset when the homunculus Greed was killed on the Promised Day. He was not meant to die. Your vessel will provide a means for him to survive. Do whatever you must to get close enough to him and the others in order to do what is necessary. That is your mission."

"So wait...I have to die to save the life of some guy I've never met. Not necessarily. It all depends on your actions, what you do will reflect how your mission plays out. Worry not, if you should die in this world, you would be brought back within your next body for your next mission."

"Great. So...How many of these will I have to do?"

"You will have six mandatory missions that are required without pay. Should you wish to continue missions after your sixth then you shall be given side missions and be paid for such efforts."

"When do I get to go home?"

"After your sixth mission. You will get a choice, you may choose to return to your own world, or resume one of the lives you lived in on one of the six missions. The choice is yours when the time comes."

I didn't realize that he had hung up on me, until I heard the disconnect noise and I shoved my phone in my pocket trying not to think about what had just happened.

~~~~  
"How was your visit to Dublith, Laurenna?"Lt. Hawkeye's voice asked me as I stood before her and Colonel Mustang.  
"It was about as morbid as morbid can be. Funerals always leave me depressed."I spoke, answering honestly. That was the excuse for my apparently prolonged departure from work, preparing my parents funeral. Fun.

"Sincerest apologies for your loss, but I'm trusting you're ready to get back to work."Colonel Mustang asked me, and I nodded at the dark haired male.

"Anything in specific I need to know about?"  
"I'm sending you out with the Elric brothers as a measure of protection. I'm sure you heard about Scar."

"The Ishvalan man that's been killing State Alchemists? Yeah."I had to pull that memory on the fly. I was definitely going to have to try and do like a memory walk or something and make sure I had all of these things down before I talked to any of these people again.  
"You're a talented alchemist and those kids need all the protecting they can get. They tend to be magnets for trouble."

"So that's my new assignment? Baby sit the shorty and tin man? Easy as Cake."I smirked, "When do I start?"

The door to the small office opened. "Now."  
"Edward,Alphonse, Meet The Crystal Alchemist. Laurenna, meet Fullmetal and his younger brother Alphonse."

I cracked up. So the suit of armor was the younger brother.

"Younger? I figured the runt was the youngest."

Edward seemed to have an interesting reaction to the jibe. Napoleon complex much? One had to wonder.

"Yeah so what!?"Edward snapped, his tone irriated. Note to self: Pick on the runt. His reactions are funny.

"I would play nice if I were you. She's your new best friend. Consider her presence a safety precaution."Mustang spoke, and the short blonde's eyes seemed to pop from his head.

"What? A baby sitter!?"

"Come on now, shorty. It's not that bad. I have to say. I am pretty attractive."

Since when was I so self centered? Since I actually looked half way towards the attractive end of the spectrum probably.

"Don't call me short!"

"Whatever you say, pipsqueak."

He made a disgruntled noise and I gave a satisfied smirk. "Alright...Alright. Ed."

He almost seemed relieved when I called him the nickname instead of another variation of short.

"Alright. Well we're headed back to the hotel. We'll be in Central a while."

"Yeah."

I waited until the brothers left the room to look back Colonel Mustang another memory having resurfaced. The news hit me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm sorry for your loss as well, Colonel. I plan on visiting Mrs. Hughes tonight on my way back to the hotel. I know he was your friend. I sincerely hope that you catch the bastard who did it soon."

I walked from the office and down the hallway after the brothers.

It was bound to be a long night.


End file.
